"Instant" live recordings will be available at the conclusion of five concerts on the current tour of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, starting tonight in Charlottesville, Virgina.

CDs of each concert will be available for sale approximately six minutes after the end of the performance, according to Instant Live, a division of the company Live Nation, which will produce the recordings. The recordings will also be sold over the Instant Live web sites and through other outlets.

Instant Live has created live CDs at rock concerts for several years, but this is apparently its first foray into classical music.

"We're very excited at the prospect of working with the Silk Road Project featuring Yo-Yo Ma," said Instant Live general manager Stephen Prendergast. "This is our first endeavor with [Ma's label] Sony Classical and we look forward to delivering the ultimate memorabilia, live recordings of unparalleled quality for Yo-Yo Ma fans to enjoy and cherish for years to come."

The G‹rzenich Orchestra of Cologne, Germany, announced last fall that it would become the first classical group to sell newly recorded CDs after concerts; John Eliot Gardiner's English Baroque Soloists followed suit earlier this month. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Symphony and the New York Philharmonic have launched efforts to offer live recordings over the Internet within days or weeks of a performance.

In addition to tonight's concert in Charlottesville, Instant Live CDs will be sold at Silk Road dates in Norfolk, Virginia, tomorrow; Detroit on February 27; Madison, Wisconsin, on March 1; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, on March 2.